Chapter 10, Problem 33E

Banning ephedra An online poll on a website asked:

A nationwide ban of the diet supplement ephedra went into effect recently. The herbal stimulant has been linked to 155 deaths and many more heart attacks and strokes. Ephedra manufacturer NVE Pharmaceuticals, claiming that the FDA lacked proof that ephedra is dangerous if used as directed, was denied a temporary restraining order on the ban by a federal judge. Do you think that ephedra should continue to be banned nationwide?

65% of 17,303 respondents said “yes.” Comment on each of the following statements about this poll:

1. a) With a sample size that large, we can be pretty certain we know the true proportion of Americans who think ephedra should be banned.
2. b) The wording of the question is clearly very biased.
3. c) The sampling frame is all Internet users.
4. d) Results of this voluntary response survey can’t be reliably generalized to any population of interest.